Supporting device



1949. J. c. BRIDGES SUPPORTING DEVICE Filed May 9, 1946 A I I VIII IN V EN TOR.

JOHN C. 5210655 I in use, to a position'whi'ch'doe's'not interfere-with Patented Feb. 8, 194

UNITED Application, May 9,1946} Serial Nb. 661;,5992 a m-alias; (01. 248-2 79 1 v Thisinvention relatesto new andflisii il'imjprovements'in supportidg.devices,- a I'id' larly to such devices adapted "for ulseiwithv hospital beds for supporting articies" siicl'i'" asii base niem fv to various positions for supporting" ber andlower' e nd' o the sunsories in proper and convenient eie L I for u'Seby, 01" in 'tiaitfn ritof; a patient Cfi'finefi 10" in a bed. I

An important object of the invention is to' j vide an appliance of the character;' described which is adaptedto be secured-t0 the headorfoogt v gassed/tat rged rend: view taken along frame member of a bed. in a mar'iner whi per- 15 mits it to be adjustably positionedatkvai ous points over the bed or at'thesid'ef thereof'for supporting medical accessories usedlin th'etr'eait ment of patients in said bed- I I M k A, Another object of the invention} to p a supporting device of ithe charactf descr'ib which is arranged to be retractablmv the normal use of the bed I V w H frarne rne A particular object oft-the inventio is to pro 25 Fittendi vide a supporting device of the character d81-- scribed having animproved 'means for niai taining such supporting device yarious ad justed positions with -res'pecttotl'ie'bec l on wl fich; it is mounted or secured; being sw'ingabl'e above and away from the bed when inelevated po'stonl A further object of the invention is to "prance! a device of the charaoten described "wl riicl iadapted to be normally maintained iflana'ino erative or retractedzposition inwhichitfwill interfere with the normal use of the bedto'w it is secured, and which may, readily-be adigl to supporting position readyifor 'u'sewh nfds'irf Still another object of theinventi vide an appliance of: the ch'aract' des'b'iib d'eo which does not have detachable parts and is con stantly maintained'in conditionre'adikfdfuse.

Additional objects andfad'iiahtagesbf the n vention will readily be apnaren ffroififa. re di' g of the following description of a device corit'ru ed 45 in accordance with the invention andreffe to the accompanying'drawing's' t1 reoff Figure -1 is a view, inel'evatio howihga s porting'device attached to 'abed andinfeli'evated' position-ready for'use, 5s

11 3. The h pinis bent a t a right angle just above thenppei surface of t e bivdt -ate and. "extend T all .t a

1 9? or arm [9 may be formed by actually flattening the tubular rod by pressing the walls thereof together, or it may be formed on one end of a bar of solid round material which has its remaining round portion inserted within the tubular rod l9 and secured therein by welding or otherwise. In the latter case, the solid bar will extend past the opening through which the hinge pin it extends, and

thus will provide additional support for such supporting arm and hinge pin.

An elongate inverted J-shaped hook or catch member 24 has its lower end extending through an opening formed in a horizontal flange 25 provided at the lower end of the base member in vertical alignment with the opening i5 in the pivot plate. "The opening in the flange is large enough to permit the catch member 24 to swing in an arc therein to various positions below the pivot plate [4, as shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4. A bearing ring or washer 28 is loosely confined on the extreme lower end of the catch member by means of a pin or cotter key, or other suitable means, to prevent upward displacement of the catch member from within the opening through the flange 25. A stop ring or member 2'1 located substantially centrally of the catch member limits downward movement of such catch member with respect to the flange.

The upper end of the catch member is bent upon itself to form a hook having a short off-set portion or arm 28 extending substantially parallel to the longer arm or body portion of said catch member, and it is preferable that this oil-set portion or arm be somewhat longer than the diameter of the material from which the catch member is made, but short enough to permit such oil-set portion or arm 28 to pass through the slot 22 formed in the elongate supporting rod l9 when inserted therethrough parallel to the longitudinal dimension of such slot. However, since the length of the ofi-set portion or arm 28 is greater than the diameter of the catch member,

it is obvious that when the arm i9 is turned so that the slot 22 is disposed at an angle to such off-set portion 28, the off-set portion cannot be withdrawn through the slot, and the catch member is positively but loosely connected to the end of the supporting rod l9, as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 3. v

It will be seen therefore, that the rod [9 will be maintained in the elevated position shown in Figure 1 when the hook or catch member 24 is engaged in the slot 22 at the end of such rod, the engagement of the bearing washer 26 at the lower end of the catch member with the under side of the flange 25 preventing further upward movement of the catch member and positioning the elongate supporting rod [9 in operative posi-' tion.

Obviously, the angle at which the rod [8 is held may be varied by varying the length of the hook or catch member 24, or by adjusting the position of the bearing member 26'on such catch member to increase or decrease the effective to permit such movement of the elongate supporting rod or arm. The long horizontal portion of the hinge pin 16 will ride or slide along the upper surface of the turntable or pivot plate l4 and will be amply supported thereby to provide a rigid support for the elongate supporting arm.

When not in use, the catch member 24 is disengaged from Within the slot 22 at the end of the elongate supporting arm i9 and said arm is permitted to swing downwardly to the position illustrated in Figure 2, where it will lie parallel to the vertical head or foot frame member ii) and not interfere with normal use of the bed. However, the supporting arm may again readily be raised to operative position by swinging the same upwardly, pivoting about the hinge 15, until the slot 22 in the flattened end of such arm is in position to receive the off-set hook arm 23 of the catch member, whereby the catch member is engaged within the slot and the arm is positively held in elevated operative position.

An elongate extension arm or bar 36, which is preferably tubular for strength and to reduce weight, is slidable through the lower half of an oval saddle or guide member 3|, the upper half of which is fixed to the outer end of the supporting rod or arm l9, as clearly shown in Figure 1. A slide or rider member 32 is secured to the inner end of the extension bar 30 and has clamping arms 33 engagin around the supporting rod i9, as best shown in Figure 5. A clamping bolt 34 extends transversely of the clamping rider 32 through a notch formed in the extension bar and has a wing nut 35 threaded thereon for clamping the arms 33 tightly about the supporting rod 59, whereby the extension arm may be ad-, justably secured at various extended positions by clamping the rider 32 at various points along the supporting rod. The end of the bolt 34 is bradded to prevent loss of the wing nut.

The length of the extension bar 38 is such that, when fully retracted as shown in Figure 2 the clamping rider 32 will be positioned adjacent the hinge pin [6 and may be clamped in such position to securely hold the extension bar so retracted. Manifestly, other means of securing the extension bar in adjusted extended elevated posi tion may be provided, but the means illustrated is preferable.

An elongate hanger member 48 is pivotally secured at one end to a clamp or strap 4| aflixed to the outer end of the extension bar 30. The hanger is adapted to be turned to a position parallel to the extension bar and to enter the bore of the tubular supporting rod 19 when the extension bar is moved to retracted position,.as shown in Figures 2 and 6, whereby it is protected by and held in inoperative position within said supporting rod. In use, the hanger member is swung outwardly about the pivot to the position illustrated in Figure 1, wherein it is supported within a slot at the outer end of the extension bar and at an angle slightly below the horizontal. A plurality of hook-like recesses 42 are formed at spaced intervals in the upper edge of said hanger member and are adapted to receive the bails or other supporting elements (not shown) of the medical ac.- cessories which are to be supported by or hung from the supporting device. 7

An open supporting ring d5 has radially extending arm 46 which are pivoted to a supporting strap t! afiixed to the outer end of the extension bar by means of a clamp 48 surrounding said bar adjacent the clamp strap M. The ring is held in substantially a horizontal position, as illustrated seeder-i n arrears :1 et QQM zQ astoundin email which is inserted through a hole proyided-tin thegstrap d a ancienta uro matelyna degneeszbemw t e-.p retrb clothe; sweater is attached to saidstrap. The pin Afleugages -t-he ed es of haarms 5, wh reby the .rins mav-be supported .inth nos {or use, or, may i e ;-tu rned.to the position il-lusr. tratedin dotted dines when .not in use,..land- :is positivelyyheld or maintained such positions bysaidpin. e I

From theforegoing, it will be seen that the-supp. portingdevice may :be attached to either the .head frame .or the foot :frame of the zbedxandathatthe supporting arm 19 may readily :be swun into positionwith the catch member .25 engag'edjin. the slot 22, and the extension bartiimay be moved to an extended-elevated position: such as is shown in Figure 1, whereupon. the supporting device is ready for immediate use. It wili further --pa-rticularly be seen that the supporting device may be swung inwardly over the'bed or outwardly therefrom as desired, to facilitate handling or treatment of the patient in the bed.

Also, the angle and height to which the supporting rod and the extension bar are adjusted may be varied by varying the effective length of the catch member 24 in such a that the hanger membermay be so positioned as to properly locatethe medical accessories at the desired point over the bed for use in treatment of the p i nt confined therein.

It is particularly to be noted that thegcatch member 24 is locked in the slot:2-2 in thesauporting rod when the arm is positioned for use, as shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4, and cannot readily be disconnected therefrom until the supporting rod is swung to a substantially vertical position to permit the withdrawal of the off-set portion or arm 28 of the hook or catch member from withinthe slot.

Furthermore, the tubular supporting rod and extension bar, the hanger member, and the supporting ring are all arranged to be retracted into a compact unit when not in use, and that the extension bar may be securely clamped to the supporting rod in such retracted position, as shown in Figure 2. It will also be seen that the support is constantly ready for use, even when conveniently stored in a retracted position in which it will not interfere with the normal use of the bed, and may readily be raised from such position to operative position when needed.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory only, and changes in the details of the construction illustrated may be made by those skilled in the art, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit,

swingably maintaining said arm in an elevated position.

2. A supporting device of the character set forth in claim 1 wherein the means engageable with the supporting arm for swingably maintaining said n illustrated iin-i-ulllinesin fi ured elongate supporting larm' -.pivoted at one hand on the projecting portion of said hinge member sons to be swingable on said hinge member abont axis of said menrber, said anm alsob eingable with said hinge member as-the sameis in a horizontal plane, and moyableeatch means mounted on the base member below theapiwt plate engageable :with the shorter portion of the' supponti-ng for maintaining said ar-m mo able elevated position. t A. Asupporting device-including, abases mem ber, .a. .piy.ct plate on said base member and adapted toiie ina horizontal plane, a hinge ber mounted on and projecting beyond-Wedgeof said :pivot plate and adapted to swing thereon in a horizontalplane. and be supported thereby, an elongate supporting arm pivot-ally seeured near one end upon-fthe protecting portion of said 'hinge member. and adapted to. swing saidz hinge member, rmovable catchzmeans iountedon base member engageable with the shorter portion.

40 beyond said plate and being supported on and swing with said hinge member as the same is moved in a horizontal plane, said supporting arm also being swingable on said hinge member about the longitudinal axis thereof, and an elongate catch member loosely connected at one endwith the base member and having a hook member at its other end engageable with the supporting arm for maintaining said arm in a movable elevated position.

6. A supporting device including, a base member adapted to be secured in an upright position on a vertical section of a bed frame, a pivot plate carried by said base member and adapted to lie in a horizontal plane, a hinge member pivotally mounted on said pivot plate projecting beyond said pivot plate and supported upon and swingable thereabove in a horizontal plane, a supporting arm pivotally mounted on the projecting end of said hinge member so as to be swingable thereon about the longitudinal axis thereof and adapted to swing with said hinge member as the same is movedin a horizontal plane; an elongate catch member loosely and swingably connectedat one 7 end with the basemember and having a-hook member at its other end engageable with the supporting arm for maintaining said arm in an elevated position, and meansnormally preventincluding, a basement- 7 z'7.- A supporting device including, a base member adapted to be secured in an upright position on a bed frame, a pivot table carried by thelbase member, a hinge pin pivotally secured at one end on' the pivot table and having its other end projecting beyond the pivot table; and swingable in a horizontal plane above said pivot table so as to be supported thereby, a supporting arm swingably mounted near one end upon the projecting swingable end of the hinge pin so as to be swingable thereon about its longitudinal axis and to be swingable with said hinge pin as the same is moved ina horizontal plane, said supporting arm having an elongate slot at one end of its shorter portion, and a catch member having one end loosely and swingably connected with the base member and having a hook member at its other end adapted to engage within the slot in the supporting arm when in alignment therewith, said hook member being normally prevented from disengagement from within said slot when not in alignment therewith.

8. A'supporting device including, a base memher, a pivot plate carried by thebase member, a hinge member swingably mounted on said pivot plate and having its outer end projecting beyond the edge of the pivot plate, an elongate supporting arm pivotally secured'near one end on the projecting outer end of the hinge member and swingable about the axis of said hinge member, meansmounted on the base member and engageable with the shorter portion of the supporting arm for swingably maintaining the longer portion of said arm in an elevated position, and an extension bar carried by the longer portion of the sup- N porting arm and adjustable longitudinally with respect to said arm. r

9. A supporting device includinga base member, a pivot plate carried by the base member, a hinge member swingably mounted on and supported by said pivot plate and having its outer end projecting beyond the edge of the pivot plate, an'elongate supporting arm pivotally secured near one end on the projecting outer end of the hinge member and swingable about the longitudinal axis of said hinge member, means mounted on the base member and engageable with the shorter portion of the supporting arm for swingably maintaining thelonger portion of said arm in an elevated posi tion, and extension bar mounted adjacent and. parallel to the longer portion of supporting arm, means at oneen'd of each the arm and bar engagingaround the other to guide the extension bar in its longitudinal movement with respect to the supporting arm, and means for preventing movement of such extension bar with respect to the supporting arm, said means being releasable and adjustable.

JOHN C; BRIDGES.

' REFERENCES CITED 'I he'follo'wing references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Hayes Jan. 24, 1933 

